Oct 20, 2014 at 3:30 PM

Portland, ORE. — On Wednesday, November 19 at 2 p.m., Portlanders will be able to tell City Council what they think about a proposal to allow short-term rentals in apartments and condos. After they hear public testimony, commissioners will vote on whether or not to extend new short-term rental regulations beyond single-family homes.

The recommendations propose to allow accessory short-term rentals in up to ten percent of the total units in multi-dwelling structures such as apartments and condominiums. In buildings with fewer than ten units, one accessory short-term rental would be permitted. The new rules would be similar to those already in effect for single dwellings; basic safety measures must be met and required notice sent to surrounding residents.

While Mayor Charlie Hales lauded this as a step in the right direction to support the sharing economy, he felt it didn’t go far enough and directed his staff to explore options for expanding the program to include multi-dwelling buildings.

Hales’ staff convened a working group, including housing interest groups and City staff to discuss issues related to short-term rentals in multi-dwelling buildings.

On Nov. 19, 2014, at 2 p.m. City Council will hold a public hearing on the recommendations in Accessory Short-Term Rentals in Multi-Dwelling Structures — Mayor’s Recommended Draft.

How to submit testimony on the Mayor’s Recommended Draft

Testify at the City Council hearing —The hearing, on Nov. 19, 2014 at 2:00 pm, will be held in Council Chambers at City Hall (1221 SW Fourth Avenue). Metered and paid parking is available in the vicinity. City Hall is served by many transit lines. Call TriMet at 503-238-7433 or check their web site at http://www.trimet.org for routes and schedules.

Write to City Council —Send written testimony to the Council Clerk at 1221 SW Fourth Ave, Rm 130, Portland, OR 97204, or email Karla.Moore-Love@portlandoregon.gov. Written testimony must be received by the time of the hearing and must include your name and address.

Copies of the Mayor’s Recommended Draft are available at the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, 1900 SW 4th Ave, 7th Floor. Or you can request a copy to be mailed to you by calling 503‑823‑7700.

Aug 6, 2014 at 4:24 PM

BPS staff have released the next workplan for the group of issues to be analyzed under the Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Pacakage or RICAP for short. The RICAP 7 workplan is a list of 44 issues that staff will research over the next several months. Simlar to past RICAPs, the subject matter of the items in RICAP 7 is diverse and covers a wide variety of sections in the City's zoning code. While most items are technical fixes to the code to improve clarity and readability, some items may have a minor effect on exisiting policy. These include issues involving processes for minor changes following design review approval, restricting concurrent pre-application with land use submittals, clarifying the definition of household living uses as related to disabled individuals, evaluating height measurement methodologies, and clarifying the Ladd's Addition District Street Tree Guidelines

The workplan will be reviewed by the Planning and Sustainabilty Commission at their public hearing on August 26 at 6:00PM.

If the research determines that a code amendment is needed, these amendments will be sent out for public review and hearings during the first half of 2015.

Jul 31, 2014 at 2:42 PM

Short-Term Rental Regulations Adopted on July 30 for houses

Following a work session on June 24, and two subsequent hearings on July 2 and July 23, City Council unanimously adopted the new rules that will allow a resident to rent up to two bedrooms in their house, attached house, duplex, manufactured home, or accessory dwelling unit to overnight guests with a low-cost permit. Such rentals will not be allowed in multi-dwelling structures, such as apartments and condos, but will be addressed by Council later this year. These new short-term rental rules will go into effect on August 29. The Bureau of Development Services website will soon offer more information about the process and how to apply for a permit.

Jul 11, 2014 at 10:30 AM

Multifamily apartments and condos to be addressed later this year

At the July 2 meeting, City Council heard public testimony and made amendments to the proposed accessory short-term rental regulations.

The new regulations will allow residents to rent up to two bedrooms to overnight guests through a simple permit, rather than the more involved conditional use process. Short-term rentals will be allowed in single-dwelling units, such as houses and duplexes. Multi-dwelling structures, such as apartments and condos, will be addressed by Council later this year.

Following several hours of testimony, Council moved the accessory short-term rental package forward with the following changes:

Inspection by Bureau of Development Services will be required with the initial application and every 6 years thereafter, or with a change in ownership. The amendment allows for self-certification for the intervening semi-annual renewals.

Require that the resident reside in the dwelling unit at least 9 months of the year.

Allow the resident to appoint a designee to operate the accessory short-term rental.

Require the permit number to be in all advertisements and in the dwelling unit.

Require Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to return with a monitoring report in September 2016.

Council will reconvene on July 23 to vote on the final package of regulations. Amended code language and explanatory commentary will be available July 18 for public review and will be posted on the project website www.portlandoregon.com/bps/ricap. If you would like a copy mailed to you, please contact Julia Gisler at 503.823.7624 or julia.gisler@portlandoregon.gov.

Jul 10, 2014 at 4:32 PM

Public hearing will continue on July 2 at 2 p.m.

On June 24, City Council held a work session to discuss short-term rental regulations included in the Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Program (RICAP) 6 package. Commissioners listened to hours of testimony at a June 4public hearing on the proposed zoning code amendments. They continued the hearing to July 2 to hear additional viewpoints and deliberate over potential refinements to the proposed rules.

Short-term rentals, most commonly provided through websites like Airbnb and VRBO, are on the rise in Portland and around the country. Council asked the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to look at revising the zoning code to more accurately reflect community trends and needs.

During the work session, commissioners discussed a number of permitting issues with staff, such as:

Scope and frequency of inspections.

Whether nonresidents could operate a short-term rental.

Whether the host needed to be present while guests were at the house.

Council also contemplated what types of short-term rentals could qualify for a simpler and less costly permit, including:

Dedicated vacation rentals (homes where there is no long-term resident).

Three-bedroom facilities (as opposed to the current two-room threshold).

Multi-dwelling units (e.g., apartments and condominiums).

Taxing mechanisms and impacts on affordable housing were also discussed.

No decisions or changes to the proposed rules were made. Council will reconvene on Tuesday, July 2 at 2 p.m. to listen to more testimony and deliberate before making a final decision.

The remaining items in RICAP 6, including revisions to cell tower regulations, temporary activities and more, were passed unanimously at the June 4 hearing. They become effective on July 11.